President Donald Trump has helped revive the coal industry, and this achievement was reinforced on Monday by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin‘s announcement that more land would be opened for coal production and that punitive regulations hobbling the industry would be rolled back. But new spending by the Energy Department is unnecessary and repeats the failures of the Biden administration.
Coal’s comeback is a direct repudiation of the damaging climate change policies of the Obama and Biden administrations, which sent coal production plummeting and electricity prices skyrocketing. More than 300 coal-fired power plants have been forced to close since the Obama administration declared war on coal, and coal production has fallen by half.
This April, Trump signed an executive order promising to reinvigorate “America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry” by removing barriers to mining and ending draconian regulations on power plants. Five months later, and the industry is bouncing back. For the first time since 2021, coal-fired power plants are expected to generate nearly 10% more electricity this year than last year. Coal use at steel plants is also up, as is demand.
Burgum and Zeldin boosted this by opening 13.1 million acres of federal land for coal leasing, reducing royalty rates on mining from 12.5% to 7%, and repealing two Biden EPA regulations designed to make coal power plants more expensive to operate.
“President Trump promised to put American energy workers first, and today we’re delivering,” Burgum said at a press conference announcing the changes. “By reducing the royalty rate for coal, increasing coal acres available for leasing, and unlocking critical minerals from mine waste, we are strengthening our economy, protecting national security, and ensuring that communities from Montana to Alabama benefit from good-paying jobs. Washington doesn’t build prosperity. American workers and entrepreneurs do, and we’re giving them the tools to succeed.”
Burgum is right. Washington doesn’t build prosperity. Workers and entrepreneurs do. This is why it was discouraging to hear Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s separate announcement that the Energy Department would spend $625 million to subsidize the coal industry with loans and direct investments in new power plants, wastewater management systems for existing plants, and financing for dual-fuel power plant technology.
The Trump administration just saved taxpayers trillions of dollars by ending subsidies for wind and solar energy. The money saved should not now be sluiced into subsidies for coal. We need an “all of the above” energy policy that removes regulatory barriers for all energy projects — coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal. Permitting and regulatory relief are also needed for transmission lines to connect new electric power to the grid. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and the Democrats raised energy prices by playing favorites with energy sources. Trump should not make the same mistake.
The Democratic candidates in gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia are blaming Trump and the Republicans’ tax and spending bill for the rise in electricity prices. This is false. Electricity prices rose steadily under Biden, outpacing inflation nationally, and the biggest increases were in blue states with strict climate change policies.
California, Colorado, and New Jersey have seen electricity price hikes far above the national average, almost entirely due to “zero-carbon” policies that force utilities to retire coal and natural gas power plants faster than required by federal law. Less electricity generation means more dollars chasing fewer gigawatts, which means higher prices. It is that simple.
THE DEMOCRATS’ RIDICULOUS SHUTDOWN RANSOM
The recent tax and spending bill ended many green energy subsidies, but most credits are still in effect. Wind and solar projects that begin construction by 2026 can still claim credits. How can Trump be blamed for cutting energy production when the subsidies he ended won’t even start being cut back until next year?
America does not need subsidies to achieve energy dominance. Coal’s revival under Trump shows that lifting burdensome regulations and unleashing workers is enough to power growth, lower costs, and strengthen national security. Washington should not replace failed green subsidies with new handouts. Subsidies distort markets, waste taxpayer dollars, and undermine competition. An “all of the above” strategy that frees every energy source from unnecessary red tape is the path to affordable and reliable power. Energy dominance comes not from government spending but from ingenuity and enterprise.
